Mr. Paul Carroll reports
World Wide Minerals is filing an immediate appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit in Washington in its $1-billion lawsuit against the Republic of Kazakstan,
Kazatomprom, and Nukem, Inc. The appeal results from the lower court's decision wherein the judge
accepted jurisdiction over the two Kazakhstan defendants but said it lacked jurisdiction over the United
States company, Nukem. However, the judge dismissed the company's action against the Kazakstan
defendants, relying upon the Act of State Doctrine which states that a U.S. court cannot invalidate an act
of a foreign sovereign.
Paul Carroll, chairman of World Wide Minerals, stated, "Clearly, we are not at all pleased with the
decision but at least some ruling has been made." As for the Act of State Doctrine, he pointed out that:
"No acts of the Kazakstan government would have to be declared invalid in the lawsuit. Furthermore, the
actions of the Kazakstan government were done through commercial entities. The Act of State Doctrine is
subject to a major legal exception when foreign governments are acting in a commercial capacity.
"This is a case about a privatized Kazakstan company inducing World Wide to invest tens of millions of
dollars in the Kazakstan uranium industry, despite apparently having a secret agreement with Nukem that
would prevent it from honouring its commitments." The Kazakstan government subsequently
renationalized the Kazakstan company and sold the World Wide Minerals property to other companies.
"To let this decision stand would mean any government acting in a commercial activity could insulate
itself from lawsuits by simply making a decree," Mr. Carroll added. "It would be another sad chapter in
the annals of foreign direct investment in emerging markets." |
